Fresh clashes kill five people in India’s Kashmir

Five people have been killed in fresh protests in Indian-administered Kashmir, reports say.

Four people were killed in Raipanthan village, while another man was killed in Larkipora village in south Kashmir after the clashes between pro-separatist protesters and police.

Authorities have imposed a curfew in many parts of Kashmir after an upsurge of violence since 9 July.

The protests were sparked by the killing of a popular militant leader.

Burhan Wani, 22, died in a gunfight with the Indian army.

More than 60 people, mostly young men, have been since killed in clashes between protestors and security forces, and thousands more injured in the worst violence seen in the region for years.

A security official told the AFP news agency that four people died in Raipanthan after a “patrol party fired on the protesters”.
Image copyright AP
Reports said a further 12 protesters were taken to hospital for treatment.

A fifth man died in Larkipora after residents clashed with paramilitary forces, witnesses told reporters.

The state government has said it will investigate reports of excessive police violence towards unarmed protesters.

The last bout of serious violence in the region was in the summer of 2010, when more than 100 people died in anti-India protests, which broke out after police shot dead a teenager.

Disputed Kashmir is claimed in its entirety by both India and Pakistan and has been a flashpoint for more than 60 years, sparking two wars between the countries.

Within the disputed Muslim-majority territory, some militant groups have taken up arms to fight for independence from Indian rule or a merger with Pakistan.